OECD Toolkit to Combat Homelessness

How to use this Toolkit

Homelessness remains a pressing challenge in OECD and EU countries, with over 2.2 million people considered experiencing homelessness in official government statistics at last count (OECD, 2024[1]). The COVID‑19 crisis shed renewed urgency on the issue, as governments rapidly introduced emergency support and temporary regulatory changes (such as cash transfers, eviction moratoria and mortgage forbearance schemes) to address the heightened economic and health risks associated with the pandemic (OECD, 2021[2]). Since the pandemic, most temporary pandemic-related housing support measures have been phased out. Meanwhile, household budgets have been further strained by a cost-of-living crisis and increasing housing costs, which rose in all but three OECD countries: Colombia, Finland and Italy (OECD, 2024[1]). Access to social and affordable housing remains a challenge for many households, particularly low-income and vulnerable households.

There is renewed momentum to improve the measurement of homelessness and housing exclusion, and to design and implement public policies to end homelessness. In 2023, the UN Secretary-General presented its first global homelessness report, Inclusive Policies and Programmes to Address Homelessness, emphasising the socio‑economic impacts of the COVID‑19 crisis and the specific challenges faced by disadvantaged groups, while underscoring the need for continued efforts to improve knowledge and policy in this area (United Nations, 2023[3]). Across OECD and EU countries, national and subnational authorities are strengthening measurement and assessment tools and introducing dedicated national homelessness strategies that tend to emphasise homelessness prevention and Housing First approaches, which provide immediate, long-term housing to individuals with high and complex service needs and enable them to exercise control over their support services (discussed further in Block 5 of this Toolkit). Indeed, as of 2023, two‑thirds of OECD and EU countries reported having a national homelessness strategy, action plan or agreement in place (OECD, 2024[1]). Housing issues broadly, and homelessness specifically, increasingly rank among the top policy concerns of the general population. According to the 2022 OECD Risks that Matter survey, half of respondents are worried about not being able to access affordable, adequate housing in the next year or two, with young people aged 18‑29 being most concerned (OECD, 2023[4]). In June 2021, all member states from the European Union signed the Lisbon Declaration to launch the European Platform on Combatting Homelessness (EPOCH), thereby committing to work towards ending homelessness by 2030, and notably to end rough sleeping (Box 1) (European Commission, 2021[5]).

The OECD Toolkit to Combat Homelessness provides guidance to policy makers to prevent people from becoming homeless, support people who are experiencing homelessness, and provide sustainable pathways out of homelessness. It represents a key contribution to EPOCH over the course of 2023‑25. Moreover, it aligns with the various treaties and resolutions enforced by the United Nations (UN) on homelessness prevention and the right to adequate housing (Box 2). Such treaties and resolutions are binding for UN members, which include all OECD countries.

Box 1. The Lisbon Declaration: A commitment by EU countries to work towards ending homelessness by 2030

The Lisbon Declaration on the European Platform on Combatting Homelessness, signed by representatives from EU countries in June 2021, aims to work towards ending homelessness by 2030 so that:

• No one sleeps rough for lack of accessible, safe and appropriate emergency accommodation.

• No one lives in emergency or transitional accommodation longer than is required for successful move‑on to a permanent housing solution.

• No one is discharged from any institution (e.g. prison, hospital, care facility) without an offer of appropriate housing.

• Evictions should be prevented whenever possible and no one is evicted without assistance for an appropriate housing solution, when needed.

• No one is discriminated against due to their homelessness.

To work towards this objective, national, regional and local authorities commit to:

• Promote the prevention of homelessness, access to permanent housing and the provision of enabling support services to the homeless.

• Welcome the involvement of all relevant stakeholders in the design and implementation of these policy measures.

• Support our policy measures with adequate funding and, when appropriate, make use of EU funding as a lever to improve the way we address homelessness.

• Share good practices in combatting homelessness.

Source: European Commission (2021), Lisbon Declaration on the European Platform on Combatting Homelessness.

Box 2. Homelessness and adequate housing in international human rights law

A number of binding international treaties and resolutions enforced by the United Nations require states to prevent homelessness and to secure the right to adequate housing. These include the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and resolution 2020/7 of the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations

Article 11 (1) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights recognises:

• The right of everyone to an adequate standard of living (…), including adequate food, clothing and housing and to the continuous improvement of living conditions.

Resolution 2020/7 of the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations on affordable housing and social protection systems for all to address homelessness:

• Calls upon Member States to collect disaggregated data on demographics, such as by age, sex and disability, related to homelessness and establish categories of homelessness, accompanying the existing measurement tools, and encourages Member States to harmonise the measurement and collection of data on homelessness to enable national and global policy making (para. 12).

• (…) Encourages all actors to build a broad-based partnership at all levels to prevent people from falling into homelessness, support those experiencing homelessness and develop long-term sustainable solutions to end homelessness (para. 35).

Similarly, resolution 76/133 of the General Assembly of the United Nations:

• Urges Member States to consider people experiencing homelessness in designing, implementing, creating and evaluating policies, programmes and strategies for full, equal, meaningful, effective, constructive and sustainable participation in society and access to affordable, stable, safe and adequate housing, as part of the human right to an adequate standard of living (…) (para 4.)

Additionally, target 11.1 under the Sustainable Development Goals Agenda seeks to:

• Ensure access for all to adequate, safe and affordable housing and basic services and upgrade slums.

Source: United Nations (1967), International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; Economic and Social Council of the United Nations (2020), Resolution 2020/7; United Nations General Assembly, Resolution 76/133; United Nations (2023), Sustainable Development Goals.

What is the purpose of the toolkit?

This Toolkit:

• Provides evidence‑based guidance to policy makers, practitioners and service providers to improve both the measurement of homelessness and the public policies to address homelessness;

• Proposes a set of building blocks to guide policy makers and practitioners throughout the policy-making process, while recognising the cross-cutting nature of the challenge and the range of types and intensity of support needs of people experiencing or at risk of homelessness;

• Presents a range of good international practices that illustrate how the proposed recommendations can be implemented in OECD and EU countries, while accounting for distinct country contexts;

• Complements the OECD Monitoring Framework: Measuring homelessness in OECD and EU countries (OECD, Forthcoming[6]), which supports governments to improve the measurement and monitoring of homelessness, and the series of Country Notes on Homelessness Data (OECD, 2024[7]) that present the latest data, statistical definitions, and data collection approaches in OECD and EU countries.

How is the Toolkit structured?

Overarching structure: Nine building blocks of good policy practice to combat homelessness

The Toolkit features nine building blocks (Figure 1), each of which represents a key dimension of good policy practice to combat homelessness. Together, the building blocks aim to support policy makers through different phases of the policy-making process, organised along three main themes:

• Policy design: Address critical points of the policy making process, from setting strategic guidance, engaging stakeholders and developing policy (Block 1), strengthening measurement and assessment of homelessness (Block 2), and embedding systematic monitoring and evaluation into policy making (Block 3).

• Policy emphasis: Focus on core policy priorities that shift from a reliance on emergency and crisis responses to prioritise prevention (Block 4), secure long-term housing solutions and generalise housing-led and Housing First approaches (Block 5), and provide low-barrier, tailored support and wraparound services (Block 6).

• Policy delivery: Recognise the importance of effective structures, systems and communication to deliver public policies, including how to mobilise funding and financing and align incentive structures (Block 7), strengthen leadership, co‑ordination and capacity (Block 8), and manage the political economy of reform to functionally end homelessness (Block 9).

Figure 1. Building blocks of the OECD Toolkit to Combat Homelessness

Underlying each building block: Relevance, operational issues, good practices and guidance

Each building block includes the following:

• An introduction that outlines the relevance of the building block, highlights key data and reviews the latest evidence and remaining gaps in research. It draws on country responses to the 2023 OECD QuASH, other OECD databases, as well as research and policy practice.

• A set of common operational issues facing policy makers and practitioners, accompanied by good practices in OECD and EU countries. The operational issues build on the discussion of the evidence base in the relevance section. They are framed as key questions by policy makers and practitioners, and aim to identify key components and/areas to improve with respect to the building block. The relative importance of each component will vary, depending on the starting point of each country, city or community. Meanwhile, the good practice examples are intended to provide concrete implementation guidance on specific aspects of each operational issue in different country contexts.

• A series of proposed recommendations that constitute the fundamentals for success. The recommendations distil the main lessons from the building block and identify concrete areas of action for policy makers and practitioners.

Selection criteria for the good practices presented in this Toolkit.

The good practice examples featured in this Toolkit are selected based on a set of criteria that draws on existing OECD work – including the Network on Development Evaluation (EvalNet) of the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) and, more broadly, the preparatory work of the OECD Youth Policy Toolkit (OECD, 2024[8]) – and adapted to the context of homelessness. Consistent with other frameworks, a good practice example does not need to meet all of the proposed criteria to be included in the Toolkit. Further, the relevance of the different criteria may be different across interventions. The proposed selection criteria outlined below are intended to guide the process of selecting a good practice from a pool of potential country examples:

• Effectiveness: The extent to which the intervention achieved, or is expected to achieve, its objectives, and its results. Where possible, interventions that have been rigorously evaluated will be prioritised in the selection of examples to be featured in the Toolkit. Where rigorous evaluations have not been conducted, the Toolkit will feature interventions that have demonstrated measurable impacts, or for which there have been positive expert appraisals.

• Coherence: The compatibility of the intervention with other interventions in a country, sector, or institution. The determination of good country practices will also prioritise interventions that are consistent with the guidance of more than one building block proposed in this Toolkit: for instance, a national homelessness strategy (Block 1) that aligns with the country’s statistical definition and data on homelessness (Block 2) and includes a core policy focus on prevention (Block 4) and Housing First (Block 5). In some cases, an intervention is featured in more than one Building Block, if it illustrates multiple recommendations in the Toolkit.

• Replicability: The extent to which the intervention could potentially be scaled up within a given country, and/or replicated in a different country context.

• Geographic diversity: The extent to which the intervention reflects an under-represented geographic area relative to the overall selection of good practice examples.

• Innovation: This criterion will be considered in the case of a potentially innovative, cutting-edge or promising intervention, for which measurable results are not yet available. In these cases, the Toolkit will indicate when an intervention shows promise, but lacks the evidence to confirm its effectiveness.

Who is the Toolkit for?

This Toolkit is designed primarily for national, regional, and local policy makers and practitioners working on homelessness, social policies, housing, and related issues.

Nevertheless, because effective homelessness policies cut across multiple policy domains and engage people and institutions working across levels of government and outside the public sector, the Toolkit aims to also address other stakeholders. This may include, for instance, statistical agencies; representatives from non-government organisations, non- and low-profit organisations and service providers; housing developers and providers; foundations, charities and faith-based organisations; and the commercial sector.

How to use the Toolkit?

Together, the building blocks represent a cross-cutting, whole‑of-government approach to improving the measurement of homelessness and the design and implementation of public policies to address homelessness.

Each block is an important part of an integrated policy approach and interrelates with other blocks. The blocks do not need be addressed all at once and rather sequenced. In a first phase, policy and decision makers may wish to focus on two or three blocks, which represent the most pressing policy priorities when designing, prioritising, and delivering homelessness policies. Subsequent phases could concentrate on additional blocks.

What are the key recommendations in this Toolkit?

Building on the evidence and international experience, Table 1 summarises the main recommendations to combat homelessness, which are organised around the nine building blocks of this Toolkit. Further rationale is presented in each block.

Table 1. Summary of main recommendations to combat homelessness.

Building block	Fundamentals for success
Policy design
1. Strategies, stakeholders and inclusion	Develop a strategy to end homelessness, which defines and assesses the scale and scope of homelessness; sets out core priorities and measurable targets; identifies proposed actions, involves responsible actors from the beginning, and links to other relevant policies (such as housing and social protection); and embeds systematic monitoring and evaluation. Identify and engage diverse stakeholders in solving homelessness, including people and institutions within and outside government with a range of policy expertise, practical experiences and perspectives. Engage people with lived experience of homelessness meaningfully and systematically in all stages (strategy, programme design, and operation) of the policy cycle, including through creating appropriate incentive structures. Develop strategies and public policies that promote inclusion and safeguard the rights of people experiencing homelessness.
2. Measurement: Definitions, data, drivers	Ensure that homelessness data collection is policy-relevant – that is, that data collection is designed and implemented to meet a clear policy purpose. In particular, aligning data collection efforts with a clear, measurable policy commitment to end homelessness (or specific types of homelessness) can be helpful. Develop a clear, consistent statistical definition of homelessness, upon which data collection efforts are based, drawing on the ETHOS Light Typology where feasible. Collect disaggregated data by different types of homelessness (e.g. ETHOS typology) and key demographic characteristics of relevance in a given country context to facilitate in-depth assessments and to tailor interventions accordingly. Undertake efforts (including through partnerships with competent research entities and NGOs) to assess the structural, systemic, institutional and/or individual drivers of homelessness in your country, city or community context, to improve the capacity to prevent homelessness and help people exit homelessness. Establish a standardised, consistent data collection and monitoring system, which may draw on multiple data collection approaches, and improve data coverage of hard-to-reach groups (including by collecting data from a broad range of service providers, e.g. beyond emergency shelters and temporary accommodation for people experiencing homelessness). [cf. OECD Monitoring Framework (OECD, Forthcoming[6]) for additional recommendations to strengthen data collection, reporting, and monitoring]
3. Monitoring and evaluation	Monitor and rigorously evaluate programmes by identifying policy objectives, indicators, and baseline context at the beginning of the policy design stage and carry out evaluations with stakeholders at pre‑determined stages of the policy process. This can be supported by putting in place at the outset a results framework and establishing an M&E group for effective oversight. Identify from the start the data and evidence to be collected ex ante and ex post and the resources needed to collect and analyse the data. Build in-house monitoring and evaluation skills, including the ability collect and analyse qualitative and quantitative data, create/manage budgets and evaluate outcomes, by conducting regular training and collaborating with academia and the private sector. Create incentives for policy evaluation and allocate dedicated resources to set up and sustain robust monitoring and evaluation of policies and programmes throughout the policy life cycle and determine whether the evaluation should be internal, external, or hybrid. Incorporate evaluation results in policy-making processes and adapt measures with this evidence where needed to improve the impact of interventions.
Policy emphasis
4. Prioritising prevention	Leverage existing social policies and housing supports to reduce the risk of homelessness, including social protection schemes and access to affordable and social housing. Ensure balanced rights and protections of property owners and tenants in tenancy agreements and related legislation. Provide targeted, timely support to people due to be discharged from any institution (e.g. prison, hospital, care system or facility) to secure appropriate housing and providing, where needed, tailored wraparound services to address their specific needs and facilitate social integration (cf. Block 6). Provide targeted assistance to people facing imminent housing loss (e.g. people at risk of eviction, victims/survivors of intimate partner violence) to help them find an appropriate housing solution. Ensure access to safe, quality emergency accommodation with low barriers of entry to prevent individuals from sleeping rough and guaranteeing that facilities are welcoming and safe for all individuals. Assess ex ante the specific needs and resources required to connect people experiencing homelessness to housing solutions in the aftermath of large‑scale climate events or natural disasters. Explore novel approaches to prevention, including early warning systems, using big data technologies. To facilitate this, governments could consider how to standardise data collection across systems as much as possible.
5. Long-term housing solutions: Housing-led and Housing First	Pursue housing-led and Housing First as core policies to provide housing solutions alongside comprehensive wraparound services, tailored to an individual’s support needs. Facilitate rapid transitions into appropriate long-term housing, using a detailed needs assessment and a housing-led approach for individuals with low to moderate support needs. Leverage the existing housing supply and social protection system to facilitate long-term housing solutions, including through social rental schemes, co‑operation agreements with social housing providers, and other opportunities to mobilise housing in the private stock. Tailor housing-led and Housing First programmes to the needs of specific socio-demographic groups, such as youth, LGBTI, women, older people, Indigenous groups, and migrants, ensuring inclusivity, appropriate housing solutions, and targeted support. Track the progress and effectiveness of housing-led and Housing First programmes through systematic monitoring and evaluation and rigorous research. Scale up housing-led and Housing First programmes to end homelessness, including by leveraging mainstream social services to support housing retention, setting regional targets, using research and evaluation to track outcomes and cost savings, and advocating for a system-wide shift in homelessness policy.
6. Low-barrier, tailored services	Carry out a timely needs assessment to identify individual needs and circumstances of people experiencing or at risk of homelessness (including people leaving institutional care) and ensure that individuals with high-service needs receive the support they need. Eliminate administrative, logistical, and social hurdles to accessing services, including through training to mainstream service providers. Co‑ordinate and, where possible, co-locate, health and social services to facilitate targeted, treatment and care to meet individuals’ needs that extend beyond housing. Facilitate access to low-barrier medical services, including Overdose Prevention Centres, street medicine, and mental health support. Strengthen access to employment opportunities for people who are able to work through training and sustained support.
Policy delivery
7. Funding and financing	For funders: Identify and communicate policy objectives to be achieved and align funding and incentive structures accordingly. Remove bottlenecks to funding integrated, long-term projects that combine both housing and service elements. Mandate quality monitoring and evaluation (M&E) frameworks as part of funding obligations. Ensure transparency in funding decisions and budget allocations related to homelessness. Lay the foundation for long-term funding and financing for affordable and social housing, including through (revolving) fund systems, as well as systemic solutions to scale up Housing-led and Housing First solutions. For fundraisers: Map potential (supra-national, national, sub-national and non-public) funding sources, along with technical assistance needs. Develop a pipeline of projects that are ready to finance, including scalable projects. Address technical assistance needs in the homelessness services sector to develop skills to attract and manage funding. More generally: Adapt lessons from climate and energy funding and financing schemes to the homelessness and social policy sector. Effectively communicate the rationale, the importance, and the social and economic benefits of funding Housing First programmes to the broader population.
8. Leadership, co‑ordination and capacity	Establish a clear policy lead on homelessness and clarify the roles and responsibilities of different actors (provider, financier, regulator), ensuring that the agency has the necessary mandate, capacity and resources. Strengthen horizontal and vertical co‑ordination – and, where possible, encourage integration – of critical homelessness services. Encourage information sharing and mutual learning across different levels of government and relevant authorities, NGOs, and the private sector, including through national networks such as Housing First hubs. Engage a range of relevant stakeholders in support service networks and co-create homelessness service delivery with impacted individuals. Improve conditions and develop capacity and training for local governments and frontline staff in the homelessness sector.
9. The political economy of reform	Elevate the issue of homelessness on the political agenda through an evidence‑based, housing-led approach. Build broad-based coalitions to depoliticise the issue of homelessness. Engage, inform, and mobilise the public to support homelessness reform, including through strategic, evidence‑based communication tools to increase public awareness of “what works”, based on rigorously evaluated interventions. Regularly report data on people experiencing homelessness and make key indicators publicly accessible to facilitate research and policy development and promote transparency and accountability. Regularly review government’s progress towards policy objectives, as well as the evidence base to inform policy decisions and make adjustments where needed. Identify, engage and support potential policy entrepreneurs and “champions” on homelessness, including outside government, to leverage their expertise and reinforce policy continuity beyond electoral cycles.

References

[5] European Commission (2021), Lisbon Declaration on the European Platform on Combatting Homelessness, https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=1550&langId=en.

[1] OECD (2024), Affordable Housing Database, OECD, Paris, https://www.oecd.org/en/data/datasets/oecd-affordable-housing-database.html.

[7] OECD (2024), OECD Country Notes on Homelessness Data, OECD, Paris, https://www.oecd.org/en/topics/sub-issues/affordable-housing/homelessness.html.

[8] OECD (2024), OECD Youth Policy Toolkit, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/74b6f8f3-en.

[4] OECD (2023), Main Findings from the 2022 OECD Risks that Matter Survey, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/70aea928-en.

[2] OECD (2021), Building for a better tomorrow: Policies to make housing more affordable, OECD, Paris, https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/building-for-a-better-tomorrow-policies-to-make-housing-more-affordable_5d9127d4-en.html (accessed on 11 March 2021).

[6] OECD (Forthcoming), OECD Monitoring Framework: Measuring Homelessness in OECD and EU Countries.

[3] United Nations (2023), Inclusive policies and programmes to address homelessness: Report of the Secretary-General (A/78/236), https://social.desa.un.org/publications/inclusive-policies-and-programmes-to-address-homelessness.